Posted By
Savita

Milk, almonds, condensed milk, and long grain rice. It is really amazing how a few simple ingredients can be transformed into something SO good: an egg-less creamy Rice Pudding! Really a TREAT in summers, for kids of any age! ;)

Just now, our local police issued an intense Heat Advisory warning through-out Southern California! In such hot weather, all we feel like to eat is something cold, chilled, refreshing, and hydrating! Now, we can't survive on drinks alone. So I thought a chilled dessert like Rice Pudding will be perfect to beat the heat!

So when Blue Diamond sent me their delicious, Oven Roasted Blueberry and Over Roasted Salted Caramel Almonds.... My desire to eat chilled, Almond and Rice Pudding, even grew stronger. Lucky for me, hint of salt and sweetness of caramel from these crunchy Salted Caramel Almonds made this rice pudding, a savory gourmet dessert! Actually, I'm SO in love with these sweet and salty almonds that I munched more than I added to pudding ;-)

Bonus! I topped pudding with some crushed blueberry almonds for extra fruity bite. Blue Diamond Blueberry Almonds are oven roasted with no artificial flavor or preservatives. With 5g of protein per serving, these are almonds are perfect for healthy snacking or topping on dessert, like this Rice Pudding, for delicious nutty crunch!

Tell me, who would not like, a little hint of salt with caramel, or fruity blueberry flavor with crunch of almonds, in a bowl full of creamy rice pudding? That's sure not me! Despite my best attempts, I can’t eat or serve, one note, over sweet or heavy desserts. I got have some texture, some savory touch, and lite-on-stomach feel, most of the times...... unless of-course Vishal (my sweets fanatic) declares to eat ALL Sweet dessert, only. ;-)

I don’t think people ordinarily consider salt while thinking sweet! But, I have to tell you, a little hint of salt can take your otherwise sweet dessert to whole new level!. We all love salted caramel in desserts, don't we? Salty bursts of crunchy almonds, really elevate this sweet rice pudding into something seriously delicious! I crushed and folded a handful of almonds into rice pudding, and used rest on top for extra crunch.

Few words about egg-less nature of this creamy pudding. This rice pudding is reminiscent of Indian Rice Kheer which NEVER has eggs. It is long grain rice cooked low and slow with just milk and sugar.... until starch in rice makes everything creamy and delicious. For this recipe, I opted to use condensed milk instead of cooking rice for long time. A little cheating.... but worth to serve creamy pudding quickly.... no long perching on stove!!

I'm not sure how is weather in your part of the world... however, we are having a HOT HOT daytime advisory for whole next week. I'm planning to enjoy my weekend with a small serving of my chilled Rice Pudding, you should too!

Have a great weekend, my friends! Stay safe and hydrate well in summers.

Savita's Notes:

Pudding Too Thick after Chilling? Once chilled, if pudding is too thick since warm rice were absorbing liquid quickly, add 1-2 tbsp cold milk in chilled pudding and fold well. Cold rice will not absorb all of this milk and pudding consistency will be much more creamier!

This looks so simple, that even I could do that. What I mean by that, is that rice pudding is something that I have never been able get right. I am going to give your recipe a try.

Savita

Monday, August 17, 2015

Dannii, thanks dear. I'm glad you find this recipe easy to execute. Really, it is my favorite way to make pudding just because of simplicity and perfect results. I hope you get chance to try it sooner!